


In Fair Verona

by valkyriors



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/F, Flirting, Fluff, Juliet and Juliet, So much flirting, Strangers to Lovers, history nerd, soft lesbians
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-04-29
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:14:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23903689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/valkyriors/pseuds/valkyriors
Summary: The Doctor's companion meets a beautiful stranger in renaissance Italy.
Relationships: Eleventh Doctor/Reader, Eleventh Doctor/You, River Song/Reader, River Song/You
Comments: 1
Kudos: 57





	In Fair Verona

“You know I hate when you don’t tell me where we’re going.” You feigned a sly look at the Doctor, waiting for a reaction. He mirrored your look for a quick second, pretending to search your face. Then he burst out in a childish grin. 

“C’mon! The surprise is what makes it fun!” He danced around the console, pressing a few buttons and flicking switches as he went. God he loved to show off. “Besides, when has anything ever gone to plan with us?” He smiled once again, this time with a quirk of his eyebrow. You shook your head immediately. 

“I think you mean with you. I’m certainly not the one that causes us trouble.” You returned the quick eyebrow raise, laughing when he pulled his tongue out on you. 

“Oh yeah, alright, alright.” He stepped quickly around the TARDIS to where you had been standing, gently leaning against the railing. Fiddling in his pocket, he whipped out a silver cube and placed it in your hand. “Besides, we’re going to see someone who is trouble.”

It didn’t seem such an interesting artifact, probably made out of cheap metal by the feel of it. There were a few markings on the side, not that they seemed to be worth much either. You chuffed at it, taking it away from your eyes. It looked like a trinket you’d find in a gift store. By its size you couldn’t tell if it was a paperweight or a keyring. 

“I prefer flowers.” You stated sarcastically, looking at the silly square with a blank expression. You looked up to him stupidly, as he shook his head and began to protest. “N-no!” He called out, snatching it away from you and holding it closer to his own eye.

“See the little symbols?” You nodded, subconsciously reaching to touch the cube again. Seeing your hand he snatched it away again, shoving it in his pocket with a tut. You sighed dramatically, waving your own hand back at him. “It’s a message. I picked it up where we were last.” He smiled, meaning you couldn’t help but smile back a little. It sounded exciting- a message, but you still had no idea where you were heading.

“From who?” You queried, following the Doctor as he moved back around the console, you stayed just two steps behind, with a bigger bounce in your step- a normal dynamic for the pair of you. The eager girl far from home and the old-man-slash-alien trapped in a boy’s body. Sometimes you wondered if you seemed like a dog following him around. 

“A friend.” He shrugged, a little quieter than before. 

“Oh no, space boy, don’t hold out on me now. Where are we going then?” You pressed, playfully pushing a finger against his arm. He looked up to you with a grin. Then he pushed a button, and a familiar sound echoed in the control room.

“Go and see.” He said, to which your face lit up. You couldn’t help but glee at him, your head spinning to the door and back to him excitedly. This could’ve been your millionth trip with him and you’d still grin the same. That was the essence of the TARDIS.

You ran toward the door eagerly, smiling in each step. Opening the door, you looked back to your Doctor, that familiar smile and quirk of his eyebrow on his face, before taking a quick step out the door.

The bright and burning sun was the first thing you felt, almost blinding your eyes leaving you squinting awkwardly. Summer, you thought, not bad though. The second thing you felt was the heat to match it, making you let out an involuntary and hot breath. Thank god you’d dressed for this. 

You moved to the side without thinking, just as the door swung open and the Doctor stepped outside beside you. Surely he’d burn up in that silly coat of his. “So…” You drawled out expectantly, your eyes beginning to follow the crowds that moved in front of you. 

It definitely wasn’t your own time, judging by their outfits. Still human, you assumed- it was something about the way they carried themselves, a strange something you’d begun to notice during your travels. The way they moved was almost hypnotic, they were unaware, rushed, and so familiar despite whatever unfamiliar place and time you’d ended up in.

No matter where the Doctor seemed to take you, it felt like you were watching characters in a book. Sometimes it was the type of book you’d like to avoid, but when you were lucky you could feel like you were in the most wonderful book you’d ever read. A book you did want to live in. 

“Um…. Verona, Italy. Maybe the 17th century?” He looked around, the same relaxed stance he always seemed to maintain. He could make the most wonderful place sound ordinary in his casual tone, what an impossible man, you thought.

You laughed at him off-handedly, then stepping out into the crowds before you could say goodbye. The flow of the people seemed to carry you, quickly losing yourself between the faces- not that you cared. Though you could imagine him quickly cursing to himself- “Don’t wander off!” He’d say, in possibly the most terrible serious voice you’d ever known. 

It seemed so elegant, to have a chance to walk through Italy in a century filled with so much history, so much love and passion. The historian in you squealed at the prospect of the 17th century world. And in such a city, the possibilities were almost endless. 

You couldn’t help but let your mind run, this century was a buzz for culture and art in Verona- a beautiful period, filled with maybe as much peace as Europe in this time could offer. You certainly felt serene. 

Your body wanted to spin around, bask in the warm italian sun, sunbathe- maybe find a spa and treat yourself like a renaissance lady, whatever that would be like. Another part of you wanted to run amok, try the foods and speak to every man and woman you met. 

At your thoughts, you couldn’t help but look around a bit quicker. Any person you saw could be an artist, a writer, an inventor. This was history, true European history, in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Maybe you’d meet Leonardo DaVinci. No, wrong century, you corrected yourself. 

“You seem enamoured.” A voice spoke from beside you, breaking you out of your trance.

“I am. It’s a wonderful city.” You replied with a friendly smile, meeting the eyes of the stranger. She was taller than you, and she looked so elegant- maybe part of one of the rich families that lived here, you thought for a moment. She looked like she belonged in a film. 

She couldn’t help but watch you, such a childish wonder in your eyes. 

“I agree. Are you a tourist?” Her voice was smooth and beautiful, it ran through your ears so easily, oddly familiar. Her voice made you want to look at her even more, memorise her like a fan bumping into a celebrity on the streets. Strangely, you found it hard to look away from her.

“Yes.” You agreed simply, stunned for other words. “Just passing through.” The words you usually spoke to strangers passed your lips so easily, though they trailed off as you watched the woman in front of you. Her own lips were a bold sangria colour, not that you were looking. 

She looked at you almost the same, a curious and entranced look in her eye. Her golden curls shon in the sunlight, a wild look about them that didn’t match with the serenity of her face. Though somehow, you felt naive in your look to her, your childlike wonder was so different to the way she looked at you- you couldn’t place it. 

Trust you to meet a gorgeous stranger in renaissance Italy, of all places. It almost felt like self-sabotage. 

“Passing through.” She repeated, in a voice you could so easily envy. She turned slightly, her eyes wandering up to some buildings that surrounded you. Your eyes followed hers like a lovesick child, admiring the beauty of summer sun, though your eyes seemed to be drawn more to the back of her head. “Where are you headed?”

“Hm?” You hummed without thinking, then shaking your head slightly when she turned to you. “Oh erm,” Your words failed you, so you cursed yourself silently. “I’m not sure, I just travel. With a friend.”

“No destination is the best destination.” She smiled at you once again, this time making your cheeks heat up. She seemed to have that line memorised, what a funny thought. You nodded silently, allowing your eyes to study hers in a daring moment. God, were they blue.

Before you could say a word she gestured for you to walk with her, and you did. In the quick moment she was a step ahead of you, you watched her dress. It was a royal blue colour, beautiful, a long velvet skirt followed her, so different to what everyone else you saw wore. Richer, maybe. But the colour matched her eyes and you couldn’t think of anything more perfect for her. 

But with that thought you glanced down at your own clothing, a plain summer dress, but definitely a few centuries ahead of what it should be. Hell, this probably looked like underwear to them. But you glanced at her dress again, maybe you both stood out, you thought. 

“Your friend,” She started innocently, glancing at you every few seconds as she walked. “Is your travelling with them a romantic endeavour?” You laughed slightly at her boldness, still following her through the cobbled street. 

“No.” You replied curtly, to which she looked to you with interest. Laughing again you replied, “He’s um,” You couldn’t help the words from your mouth. “Really not my type. And I’m not too much of a romantic.”

You shook your head as you finished, though a smile still ghosted your lips. She looked to you again with the same curious look she had shown you before. “Interesting.” 

“Is it?” You replied brazenly, quirking your eyebrow at her flirtatiously. This time, she laughed. It matched her voice, smooth and melodic, like a Song. And if it was a song, you could listen to it a thousand times over. 

“You’re not a romantic, yet you’re in the most romantic city in the world.” The stranger looked back into the crowds wistfully. Her eyes left you so easily and you searched for them to come back. In a second she managed to seem so far away from you, unattainable. 

“The history is romantic enough for me.” You replied, reminding yourself of where you were right now. Renaissance Italy, it felt like a dream. Yet her presence made everything else slip out of your mind. 

“Mm.” She hummed lightly, taking you round a sharp corner and showing you to a certain building. “Well then, let’s see what you think about this piece of history.” She glanced at you adventurously, a new expression, flirtatious in a way. You didn’t think you were a romantic, but falling in love with a beautiful stranger in Verona, Italy seemed more appealing by the second. 

Immediately she quickened her pace up the smaller street, probably as close to a run as she could get in such a dress. It shocked you almost, but made you smile nevertheless. There were less people here, and she glanced around to you daringly as she dashed up the street. It was a smile for the ages, you thought. She looked so free, and so you did the same.

For a short few seconds, far too short, you ran behind the enticing stranger. Under the sun you almost felt like a child at play, chasing in the summer heat. You watched as her dress danced from side to side and her hair bounced freely, every inch of her form was beautiful and you ached to remember this moment.   
In a way this began to feel like your own adventure, a personal one, the Doctor nowhere to be seen. But this was blissful, no imminent threat, no pain, just the euphoria of running with a beautiful woman in the streets of Italy. This felt like what you always seemed to miss when you ran with your alien friend. 

On second thoughts, maybe the Doctor was your type. He just wasn’t the type you wanted to kiss in an alleyway in Verona. Or at all, you noted. 

A year ago you would have called yourself crazy for chasing a stranger. But after meeting the Doctor, oddly this felt normal. Well, at least plausible. Stranger things had happened, you told yourself. Maybe you were too caught up in the moment to think it through. After all, with the Doctor there was so much ‘do’ before ‘think’. Wait… where had the Doctor gone?

The thought left your mind in a moment, because now she’d grabbed your wrist, pulling you around a sharp corner before your body recognized the change in direction. Another short laugh left her lips at your shocked expression. You wanted to push your body against hers as you brushed past her. 

“Here.” She edged you forward, a gentle hand on your upper back. You couldn’t help but turn and watch her face again, stunned by everything about this woman. Her breathing was steady and her hair hadn’t moved an inch, you couldn’t even tell she had been running. She was stunning. You were sure she could show you a rubbish bin right now and you’d still be in awe of her. 

“I-” Your breath wasn’t fully calm yet, it was hard to tell if it was the running or the beautiful woman that had you panting. Both, your mind concluded. “Wait.” Any semblance of a lack of breath left you in an instant. “I recognise it.”

You took a step forward, edging closer. It was a building of orange stone, not quite dissimilar to everything nearby. Though it was bigger, grander, in a way. It was the window that you recognised, newer- obviously, you brushed off. You hadn’t even registered that you were standing in a courtyard.

“Is that..” You couldn’t even finish your sentence, a smile and a laugh filling your face immediately. You took one step closer, reaching to touch the brick with one of your hands, then a few steps back, to admire it from a far. Ha! You thought. 

Your renaissance stranger watched you, a smile almost as gleeful as your own. She took the moment to study you, wrapped up in your thoughts. This image of you was not one she wanted to forget, unbridled happiness. A feeling she often found herself estranged to- but that wasn’t a thought for this time. 

“It’s the balcony from Romeo and Juliet.” You said with one short laugh and a big smile, you stepped forward and pulled slightly on her sleeve with excitement. It was a subconscious touch but your smile grew even wider. Your touch broke her out of her thoughts, not that she showed it. A familiar touch, a thought that rang through both of you, strangers.

“Yes. Historic and romantic, don’t you think?” She stepped back closer to you, leaving just a small gap between you. Your sweet perfume practically dared her to push her boundaries, but she liked the feeling of you close. 

“Mm.” You looked at her knowingly, just as she did you. She’d caught you, in more ways than one. “I thought there actually was a balcony?” You glanced up to the plain window, clearly picturing the balcony you had seen in photos before.

“Oh, they won’t add that until the 19th century, I believe.” The words left her lips casually, so you just nodded for a second before realisation hit you. Oh, you thought, of course. You felt the realisation hit the bottom of your stomach. 

“Oh.” You said shortly, not really sure what to say. You felt her looking at you now, it stinging rather than burning like it had done. Looking to her you saw the same smile, more devious now, a little daring, but the same now.

Was that better or worse? You thought to yourself, but couldn’t come to a conclusion. Trust the Doctor not to tell you who you’d come to see, and to find yourself utterly struck by her before you’d even found out.

You felt star-struck, idiotic, you weren’t really sure what.

“Hi.” You said uselessly, looking at her feeling like a child. 

“Hi.” She repeated, that look still on her face. You couldn’t tell if you were annoyed or if you wanted to kiss her even more. 

River’s heart beat just a little bit quicker, watching your hair float slightly in the new found breeze. You were beautiful, very and truly beautiful. The Doctor chooses his companions well, she thought, and you were definitely the type of companion she’d like to have.

She’d enjoyed your moments, as strangers in the midst of the renaissance. A part of her wanted to feel a little bit bad for the look she’d put on your face but she knew you’d forget it- and who didn’t love role-playing?

It’s a shame though- she studied your face, it glowed with youth she hadn’t seen in you before. You didn’t know her yet, not one bit. It didn’t take her long to realise that, not that it would stop her. There was something wonderful about the thought of your first memory of her being as strangers in the summer of Verona, Italy. Not too deep down there was a part of her that wanted to touch you, hold you as close as she ever would- because you were her girl. That’s what she told herself. 

For now, flirting would have to do. It was her specialty after all.

**Author's Note:**

> check out my tumblr too! tumblr.com/blog.ellvswriting


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